Canh chua cá lóc — Mekong Delta sour snakehead soup

Start the rice. Rinse the rice and cook it with 375 ml water in a rice cooker or according to the package directions. Keep it hot for serving.

Make the tamarind extract. Soak the tamarind pulp in 200 ml hot water for 10 minutes. Mash it thoroughly, then strain through a fine sieve. Discard the fibrous pulp.

Prepare the taro petioles. Use only sweet-taro stems sold for eating, not ornamental elephant-ear plants. Peel, wash and slice them; wear gloves if raw taro irritates your skin. Boil in a separate pan of fresh water for 10 minutes, then drain and discard the water.

Prepare the fish and vegetables. Keep the fish refrigerated until needed. Season it with 5 ml fish sauce and refrigerate for 10 minutes. Cut the pineapple, tomatoes and okra; rinse the sprouts and herbs. Keep the raw-fish board and knife separate from the ready-to-eat produce.

Build the broth. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Sauté the garlic and shallot for about 1 minute until fragrant. Add 1.2 L water and all the strained tamarind extract; bring to a boil. Stir in the remaining 25 ml fish sauce, sugar and salt.

Cook the fish. Add the fish to the boiling broth and lower the heat to a steady simmer. Skim foam and cook gently for about 5–8 minutes, depending on thickness, until the centre of the thickest piece reaches at least 63°C. Avoid vigorous stirring.

Finish the soup. Add pineapple and tomato; simmer for 3–4 minutes. Add the drained taro petioles and okra and cook for about 3 minutes. Add the sprouts for the final minute. Turn off the heat and fold in rau om and ngò gai. Serve at once with rice and optional chili.